Identity seems to be something important to human beings throughout life and something that is always brought to our attention with the question “what makes you, you?”. Throughout life, we experience personal events that shape us to be who we are. Although often times, we can put on a mask and act as someone we really aren't, which is what happens to Jack Gladney in White Noise. Jack Gladney is an intelligent college professor who studies the academic field of Hitler Studies and founded it in the 1960’s. Although a highly intelligent professor, Jack himself sometimes feels lost in personal problems and his own identity. Despite being a professor of Hitler Studies and all of his knowledge of Germany, Jack does not speak the German language
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Through this and other instances Jack worries that he is lacking or unskilled. From his studies, he feels Hitler's importance as a figure, that stands as authority to Jack. Due to this knowledge, Jack begins to associate his own identity similar to Hitler's, searching for the idea of power and trying to fill his gap. In a article written by Sanja Matkovic called “The Construction of Identity In A Consumerist Society: DeLillo’s Jack Gladney”, main ideas are brought up about Jack's struggle along with society's struggle to find their identity. Matkovic says “In postmodernism, mostly as a result of cultural and social changes, especially those caused by globalization, identities become ever more destabilized. Fractured and fragmented which leads to identity crises” (164) and furthermore states “Gladney is a typical postmodern character with a fragmented density” (165). Matkovic supports his claims with examples from the book, he explains “the chancellor advised him to alter his name and appearance in order to be taken seriously as Hitler innovator... The chancellor [also] suggests that he gain weight to “grow out” into Hitler... Thus he decides to wear glasses with thick black frames and dark lenses to accentuate his image even more ” (166). Though his
Through this and other instances Jack worries that he is lacking or unskilled. From his studies, he feels Hitler's importance as a figure, that stands as authority to Jack. Due to this knowledge, Jack begins to associate his own identity similar to Hitler's, searching for the idea of power and trying to fill his gap. In a article written by Sanja Matkovic called “The Construction of Identity In A Consumerist Society: DeLillo’s Jack Gladney”, main ideas are brought up about Jack's struggle along with society's struggle to find their identity. Matkovic says “In postmodernism, mostly as a result of cultural and social changes, especially those caused by globalization, identities become ever more destabilized. Fractured and fragmented which leads to identity crises” (164) and furthermore states “Gladney is a typical postmodern character with a fragmented density” (165). Matkovic supports his claims with examples from the book, he explains “the chancellor advised him to alter his name and appearance in order to be taken seriously as Hitler innovator... The chancellor [also] suggests that he gain weight to “grow out” into Hitler... Thus he decides to wear glasses with thick black frames and dark lenses to accentuate his image even more ” (166). Though his